What constitutes a “young adult” book?
The general public seems to agree that a number of traits contribute to this categorization: a coming of age, explorations of identity and beliefs, and an overall focus on characters of the young adult age with relevant experiences and emotions to the modern young adult.
But lately, this categorization has become more blurred, expanded, and general. The result has been younger readers undertaking content that isn’t always well-suited for them.
Take a look at a Target book section and you’ll be shocked to find the number of blatantly adult books included in the young adult section.
Sexually explicit, overly violent, and gory themes, as well as other mature topics including abuse and drugs, have worked their way into books intended for older audiences but promoted to younger ones.
Although such themes may be relevant or revealing toward life, there is a correct way and time for kids to be exposed to them. They should not be introduced to overtly sexual content before they’ve even had a comprehensive sex education, lest they risk confusion and misconstrued expectations later. This same sentiment expands to other mature topics.
This generally might not be as problematic for older young adults and high school-age students who have had time to develop the proper knowledge and understanding about mature themes. But, the issues become more prevalent within the younger bounds of the young adult classification.
This highlights a primary contributing factor to the young adult confusion: It’s too broad.
We, as a society, have used the term “young adult” very generally to encompass a wide age range, at least in terms of cognitive and emotional development. If you consider a young adult anyone from a pre-teen or tween to a college student, then things are bound to get complicated.
A lot changes from 12 to 22, even if a decade seems like nothing to those who have acquired more of them.
We need to expand our groupings and categorizations to best fit all age groups. The “New Adult” genre, initially coined in 2009, helps address parts of this issue, but it remains less popular and continues to blur into the young adult genre.
Similarly, it must be considered that if a book is pushing the limits for a person within the typical young adult range — roughly 13 to 18, depending on who you ask — then it may be wildly inappropriate for those under this range.
Consider, for example, a 9-, 10-, or 11-year-old, entering the upper grade levels of elementary school but not yet a middle schooler. Books designated for them may seem too childish, especially at a time where they want to avoid appearing as such. So, they choose to read the young adult books to appear more mature or intelligent.
Or perhaps a kid cares less about appearances but is simply reading at a higher level and thus decides to make the jump to more challenging young adult books.
And while most young adult books are correctly rated and classified, the expansion of the category and blurring of lines has made it possible for a 10-year-old to pick up a book they think is about fairies and magic and accidentally end up reading extremely explicit sexual content, albeit involving fairies and magic.
Another culprit, as it always seems to be, is social media. The same media that has created Sephora 10-year-olds is also promoting books that are not entirely appropriate for them. When an influencer says that a book is “a must-read,” they need to consider who their audience is and what additional information is important for potential readers to know.
And let me be clear: I am not arguing for censorship of any kind for any genre or classification. All books should continue to be published and made available to read. Nor do I think all children, teens, or adults should be restricted to their respective age ranges of books. If a 13-year-old feels ready to take on more mature topics, so be it.
However, I do believe books need to disclose more about their content so readers can make better-informed decisions about what they choose to read. This should apply to books of all age ranges, not just young adult ones, especially when it comes to difficult or triggering topics — take notes, Colleen Hoover.
In the same way that movies fall under different ratings depending on the content depicted, so should books, especially since synopses or reviews can be misleading about certain aspects.
It’s up to publishers to disclose key details about the books they publish, and it is further up to parents to have discussions with their children about risqué content, particularly if the child is at an impressionable stage.
“[It] depends on the child, the parent, the book, and the context,” Ruquyyah Daud, an associate editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, said in an interview with Publishers Weekly.
I would advise parents, as an avid lifelong reader with a caring mother, to do what she did when I brought home a copy of The Handmaid’s Tale at 14: She did not tell me I could not read it or that it was too mature. Rather, she said it focused on heavy topics and that if I wanted to read it, she would read it with me so we could discuss it, and I could better understand.
Literature can be difficult to classify and categorize. Sometimes, clear lines don’t exist. But reading remains crucial to who we are and who we will become. We must encourage young readers to be informed about what they read and help them in the process of doing so.